Deputy

Well I'm a newbie to the Combat Mission series. I got all 3 WW2 sims yesterday and am having a blast playing them. Each one works flawlessly and I sure like the graphics. However, I also bought Theatre of War 2 : Kursk 1943 and what a disappointment that was! I won't harp on it again in this forum, but suffice it to say it was released unfinished, IMHO. And the one patch it received didn't fix much. So I would rather they take their time releasing CM:N until it is really ready for release and has been beta-tested thoroughly.

Yep...I got ALL the CM games now! Each one is a winner.

Thanks, but I'm having a great time with the Combat Missions series. A pity they can't get Kursk to run as well.

No thanks. I like to limit myself to WW2.

Not what I saw. Maybe not complex, but confusing.

I tried that. A bit too complex for me. I confess, (I prefer the K.I.S.S. stuff). The Mission Generator was okay when it worked. But 3/4 of the time when I specified armored I got infantry. I thought I had it beat by exiting the sim and then coming back, but that didn 't work either. It wasn't a "saved game" problem because I never saved anything. Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin is just so much better with no slideshows. I hope the Afrika Korps version is as good. tdogg: My system is not exactly obsolete or underpowered. I have an nVidia 9800GT video card with 1 GIG onboard RAM, 4 GIG of system RAM, dual Intel Xeon 3.4 Gig processors, and Windows XP 64 bit. Even the most graphic-intense complex games have run fine. And my comp specs at least meet the recommended specs: System requirements Your PC should meet the following minimum requirements for the game to run properly: •Operating system: Windows XP or Vista •CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon64 X2 (2,4GHzor better) •RAM: 2GB •Graphics: nVidia GeForce 6600 or AMD Radeon X1900 with 256 MB RAM or better •Sound card: DirectX 9-compatible •DVD-ROM drive (for the disc version) •Free harddisk space: 3.5GB •DirectX 9.0c Recommended system requirements: •Desktop PC with Operating system: 64-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7 •CPU: or AMD Phenom II X550 •RAM: 4GB •Graphics: nVidia GF 8800 or AMD Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB RAM or better •Sound card: DirectX 9-compatible •DVD-ROM drive (for the disc version) •Free harddisk space: 3.5GB •DirectX 9.0c

A thing called FRAPS for the frame rates: http://www.fraps.com/

I think you are exctly right Phil. And I apologize for sounding like an a-hole Anyway, I am having a BLAST playing Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin.

Just tried Achtung Panzer! Kursk 1943. Not for me. Way too complex. However, I also tried Combat Mission Barbarossa to Berlin and was VERY impressed. Excellent mission editor that didn't need a college degree to figure out and graphics were quite good. Gameplay was also rock solid. No crashes or bugs at all. I'm also gonna check out Combat Mission Afrika Korps. If it's as solid as Barbarossa, I'll be happy camper

I already removed the game from my hard drive. I'll come back in a year (maybe) and see if they've made any progress.

Troll my butt. The pics don't show ANY trenches. As to the sim, if every attack in the campaign (which is unplayable because of the slideshow bug) is one trench after another, then the whole sim is pretty much an exercise in futility. I mean is it even possible to WIN a campaign as the German? If not, then why bother even playing it?

Thanks for that suggestion! My friend has that game. I'll check it out on his comp before buying. $20 isn't a bad price, but I want to try before I buy.

Between the CTDs and lockups and the unplayable campaign and the Mission Generator generating the wrong units time after time, I've come to the conclusion this game was released unfinished and was a waste of money. I'm going back to Close Combat: Cross of Iron. It may not have the fancy graphics that TOW Kursk has, but at least the dang thing was stable and I could actually get the units I wanted for a mission. Will this game be fixed in a year? Maybe. With the ongoing problems it has, and the manufacturer more interested in coming out with new games rather than fixing what they already have, I have my doubts. Would I buy another new release for $45 from them. No way. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Seems like every game coming out of Russia and Eastern Europe has a ton of problems in it and is being released just to make a fast buck with no real interest in satisfying the consumer.

Those pics are from Wikipedia. Doesn't look like trench warfare to me.

I thought the major part of the battle of Kursk was fought on relatively flat or slightly rolling terrain. I mean this was mainly a tank battle, not a WW1 trench warfare battle. Most of the videos and pictures I've seen have been of open terrain nowhere near any towns and with very little cover and concealment.

Now that's reliability!

When my framerates drop it's a slideshow. Meaning instead of fluid motion it jumps and skips video. One second your tank is at the bottm of a hill. Then 1/2 way up, then OVER the hill. Now if that isn't affecting playability I don't know what does.

Try exiting the game completely and then going back in. That fixed it for me.

After trying the campaign once, I gave up and have been playing using the Mission Generator. While the slideshow isn't there, I still get the unpleasant feeling that I've been ripped off to the tune of $45. Like buying a Dodge Charger with a hemi V8 and I can only run it on 4 cylinders.

Shiftz: I understand what you are saying. I have SHIII and it works great. I refuse to buy SH5 because of the requirement to be online to play. If Ubisoft has that little trust in it's customers, then they can keep their games. I use the Grey Wolves mod for SHIII and the game looks and works great. Ubisoft is another company that expects the gamers to be the beta testers and the modders to make the sim right. Another big $$ sim that is loaded with bugs. Sorry for being so new and griping so much, but I shelled out $45 for something that obviously ISN'T ready for normal gameplay. The graphics in this are real nice. But good graphics isn't a substitute for bad game play. One year to get it fixed? They need to shelve the new releases and get this thing fixed faster than that. Have you played Close Combat: Cross of Iron? While the graphics aren't as spectacular, the gameplay is flawless. And thanks for thr welcome. I wish it could be under better circumstances.

I withdraw my request. After trying to play a campaign and getting that stupid slideshow effect, I'd just like them to try and fix what they have. Anyone else think $45 is a bit steep for a sim that doesn't even seem to have been playtested and that expects the user to find the bugs that are all glaringly apparent? My money tree died a couple of years ago and I never got the discount coupon for being a beta tester/bug finder for this sim. :mad:

I am experiencing the slide show effect when playing the campaign that so many others have complained about. This really stinks. I haven't seen this since the old DOS days with Jane's Advanced Tactical fighters. Back then it was the result of having a slow video card and not enough RAM and processor. I have an nVidia 9800GT video card with 1 Gig onboard RAM, 4 Gig of system RAM, and dual Intel Xeon 3.4 Gig processors running in Windows XP 64bit. I THINK I have enough juice to run this sim. I've run much more system-intensive games with no problem at all. To be honest, I'm a bit surprised this sim was released with this many obvious problems in it. C'mon, weren't there any beta testers before this thing went gold? This seems to be a common practice nowadays. Release a half-complete sim and then let the consumer be the beta tester. For $45 I expect a sim that might have a couple of bugs, that is unavoidable, but not one that is barely playable. Maybe this sim is acceptable in Russia, but the rest of the world expects to get some playability for their money. Especially in this day and age when money is tough to come by.

I got the above bug fixed by exiting the sim and then going back into it.

Before they start thinking about other simulations, how about perfecting this one? Between the bugs and the slide show effects, this game is far from enjoyable as is.

Well I seem to have found another bug, unless it's already been reported. In the Mission Generator, I select a German Armored battalion and I end up with all infantry. Very odd, since the first time I tried it it worked fine. Now every time I get infantry instead of armor. I miss my Tigers and Panthers.